Wendy Spratt is entering her 31st season as head coach of the Columbia College women's softball team Fall 2024. A former NAIA All-American selection, Spratt has led the Cougars to a 1,034-479 record, the second-most wins in NAIA history. She has also garnered 13 American Midwest Conference (AMC) regular season championships during her time as head coach. Under Spratt's direction, the Cougars have won 14 AMC tournament titles, five Region V titles and have appeared at the NAIA National Tournament 18 times.
Spratt says she selects players who demonstrate true athletic ability, speed, and the right fit for the philosophy the team already encompasses. She believes the key to her success is based on her team’s expectation to always win and the manner in which everything the team does on a daily basis is aimed toward going to Nationals.
In 1995, Spratt's first season at the helm, the Cougars finished 37-19 and won the AMC regular season championship while finishing tied for thirteenth in the NAIA Women's National Fastpitch Softball Championship. In 1997, the team also won the AMC championship after finishing 29-16. In 1999, the Cougars finished with a record of 42-15, claiming AMC regular season and postseason tournament titles. The squad advanced to the NAIA National Tournament for the fourth time under Spratt's leadership, finishing in a tie for thirteenth. In 2000, the Cougars finished 46-16 and won the AMC regular season with a 9-1 mark. The squad also claimed the 2000 AMC Tournament title.
In 2004, the Cougars advanced deeper into the NAIA National Tournament than any squad in the program's storied history, finishing the event in fifth place with a 4-2 record. Columbia also won the AMC regular season title with a mark of 11-1 and prevailed as the AMC and Region V Tournament Champions. The Cougars finished the season ranked No. 8 in the nation with a 47-11 record.
In 2006 her team finished with a 38-17 record, setting the record for consecutive wins in a season at 28 in a row while breaking the previous record of 26 games set back in 1989 during Spratt’s junior season.
In 2017 Spratt led the team to a historic season as she picked up her 800th career victory with the Cougars and finished with a 48-7 record on the year. They finished with a 23-1 record in AMC play and were crowned the AMC regular season champions and then swept their way through the AMC Championships before earning the top seed in the Columbia (Mo.) Bracket of the 2017 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round. The Cougars remained unbeaten in the postseason as they swept through the opening round and earned the second overall seed in the 2017 NAIA Softball World Series marking the first time that Columbia College made it to the final site of NAIA Softball Championships since the current format was established in 2013. The Cougars finished with a 2-2 record in the 2017 NAIA Softball World Series and finished in fourth place overall marking the highest postseason finish in Columbia College history. For her efforts, Spratt was named the AMC Softball Coach of the Year for the sixth time in her career and the Cougars finished the season with three NAIA Softball All-Americans and five AMC First Team All-Conference selections including the AMC Player and Newcomer of the Year.
The Cougars followed that up with another great showing in the 2018 season as they finished with an overall record of 37-16. They finished in fourth place in the AMC regular season standings before making a run in the postseason that saw them earn their 11th AMC Tournament Championships title which earned them a spot in the NAIA National Tournament. The Cougars were able to make a run all the way to the championship game of the NAIA Softball World Series earning themselves a second place finish and the number two overall ranking in the final poll of the season. The runner-up finish in the NAIA Softball World Series is the highest in program history.
The Cougars produced an overall record of 37-12 in the 2019 season with a 21-3 conference record. They finished first in the AMC regular season, while also winning the AMC Tournament for the third straight year. Columbia advanced to the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round and finished the year ranked No. 16 in the nation. The Cougars secured AMC Player and Pitcher of the Year honors, two NAIA Softball All-Americans, and picked up six All-Conference players and 16 Academic All-Conference players.
In 2020, Columbia finished the shortened season with a 12-2 record producing 17 Academic All-Conference.
The Cougars dominated the 2021 regular season going an undefeated 18-0 in conference play with an overall record of 35-7. They also documented a record breaking 30-game win streak which resulted in an AMC regular season championship and an AMC Tournament first place finish. Columbia finished their season at the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round achieving a seventh-place finish in the postseason national rankings. The Cougars picked up two All-Americans and 18 Academic All-Conference players.
Columbia produced an overall record of 35-12, while maintaining an 18-0 conference record in the 2022 season. The Cougars produced a 25-game winning streak while picking up AMC regular season and an AMC tournament championships. The squad finished 18th in the nation in the final NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Cougars picked up seven AMC All-Conference awards, two All-Americans, and 11 Academic All-Conference Players.
In 2023, Columbia finished the season with a 26-19 record. Coming into the conference tournament as a four-seed, the Cougars went undefeated, collecting their sixth-straight conference title. With an automatic berth into the NAIA Opening Round, Columbia defeated #16 Middle Georgia State and #9 Marian (Ind.), before falling twice to Marian. The Cougars added 16 to the Academic All-Conference team, three First Team All-Conference athletes, and three Second Team All-Conference athletes. Ella Schouten also picked up AMC co-Player of the Year honors. Columbia finished fourth in the conference regular season with a 15-5 record. One was named to the NFCA All-America Second Team along being named an NAIA All-American, two picked up CoSIDA All-American honors, and nine were named NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
Coming off the 2024 campaign, Columbia finished just above .500 with a 20-19 record. The Cougars finished fifth in the conference regular season, collecting an AMC record of 10-8. Sixteen athletes were named Academic All-Conference, three took home First Team All-Conference accolades, while two made Second Team, and one was named to the Third-Team. Columbia also named seven as NAIA Scholar Athletes.
Spratt played at Columbia College from 1987-90. She earned All American honors as a shortstop in 1990. She was an All-District 16 performer four times (1987-90), an All-Show-Me Collegiate Conference selection twice (1988, 1990), two-time SMCC Academic All-Conference selection (1988, 1990) and an NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete. Spratt was voted by her teammates as the Columbia College Most Valuable Player after the 1990 season when she set school records for batting average (.480) and most triples in a season (10). For her efforts she was inducted into the Columbia College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.
Spratt was a member of the 1993 United States women's fastpitch softball team. She completed her playing career with the St. Louis Classics, a team affiliated with Women’s Major League Softball. Spratt and the Classics finished sixth at the ASA Women's Major League Fastpitch National Championships. In the summer of 1995, Spratt played in the women's major national softball championship and earned third team All-American honors at third base. Spratt graduated from Columbia College in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in business administration-marketing and a minor in psychology. She earned a 3.98 undergraduate grade-point-average. In 1992, Spratt earned a master's of business administration from Central Missouri State University, recording a 3.9 grade-point-average.
Before replacing ten-year coaching veteran Chuck Bobbitt in 1994, Spratt served as the assistant women's softball coach at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. At Yale, Spratt's duties included designing preseason workouts, recruiting and instructing outfielders during game and practice situations.
Since her arrival at Columbia College Spratt has received Regional Coach of the Year five times, NFCA Coach of the Year three times, and Conference Coach of the Year eight times. She has served as President of NAIA Softball Coaches Association for nine years and is a member of the Women Intersport Network for Columbia.
Spratt, a native of St. Louis, resides in Columbia with her daughter Dani Dakota.
Updated 10/11/24
